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Starting today, residents of Alameda County are now paying more to dispose of hazardous waste following adoption of a new fee structure by the county’s waste management agency.
The Alameda County Waste Management Authority
board increased the household hazardous waste fee to $9.95 per year per residential unit effective today. Fees will be collected via the property tax roll.
StopWaste spokesman Jeff Becerra said revenues from the fee will be used to support the household hazardous waste program and expand
services to residents throughout Alameda County.
The program provides safe, legal, environmentally sound collection and disposal services for hazardous waste such as paint, solvents and
pesticides.
Becerra said the hazardous waste collection program is currently funded through a per-ton fee on municipal solid waste disposed of in landfills. He added that the fee has not changed since 2000 and without the additional funding, the program would have been cut back dramatically.
Joan Dentler, Bay City News
By
Joan Dentler, Bay City News
By
Tax, tax, tax, tax,tax….
I don’t recall that we voted on this.
Taxed to Death: You’re right, and I was thinking the same thing. What are they going to do with all of this cash that will be coming in? And don’t we already have to pay when we go and drop off hazardous waste at our closest Alameda County location, which is in Livermore? If we have to pay, then what is this additional money for? I don’t get it.
The new little fee for garbage snoopers to study has already been showing up on our bills. Actually, if we look deeper, I would guess there a some ‘union wage increases’ in the picture too.
On our water statements (until this one) printed 7:30 – 3:30 hours…8 hours. Is that union contract 7 hours work, and 1 hour paid lunch ??? just wondering. They’ve stopped printing that info now. Oh, the utilities, not just fire dept.
I recall I voted by mail, and *against* the fee being added to my property taxes. I have no problem with paying for use at the facility, but against these automatic schemes to tax property owners – and then raise the rates over and over. Please stop this insanity.
Ah, the public sector how sweet it is! In the real world when companies cannot meet the bills, they just cut the payroll, I experienced a 10% wage cut on several occasions, still had to work 8 hours+.
“Please stop this insanity.”
The real insanity here is not the minuscule fee, but the dangers posed by uninformed businesses and homeowners who send hazardous materials, like paint, aerosol cans, herbicides, pesticides, solvents, to the landfill. We survive in this valley by pumping out ground water. Landfills can, and do, leach into ground water drinking supplies.
Preventing hazardous materials from getting into the landfill saves lives. Plain and simple.
A Neighbor: I agree the dumping is a problem, and the solutions to these problems are NEVER “let’s add on some more tax burden”. $10 per property (now) is significant – and you can imagine the waste involved in oversight and performance monitoring, or lack there of, whenever money just comes to your department because of a tax scheme. I agree we ought to seek greater cooperation and responsible behavior from everyone with regard to recycling and even procurement, AND stop thinking that raising taxes is the answer, or prepare for revolt.
Voted Against, So what is your specific plan to keep hazards out of the waste stream? Information campaigns only go so far. Actual labor is involved in separating out these materials. That won’t get done for free and this fee is more than reasonable. Would you rather we have every citizen spend a number of hours each year on the sorting line volunteering to keep our environment sound? Probably not. Time to admit that public agencies actually do do public good.
I don’t know why so many here are complaining about a $10 annual fee increase on a hazardous waste fee that hasn’t changed since the year 2000. Seems like small potatoes to me. If you want something to gripe about how about griping about your share of a bill of that works out to about $75,000 for you as well as each and every household in the US ? That’s right. That’s what the expensive, drawn-out wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost us (so far).
California WAS a great state
i agree…CALIFORNIA IS A GREAT STATE…VIVA1 VIVA AMERICA!
its all about the money, nothing else matters any more
a neighbor, your pandering to the tax and spend crowd is disgusting to observe. Since all of your faith is placed in highly compensated govt drones, it must be because they do such an excellent job. Following your example, I’ll be placing all my hazardous materials in with the regular garbage, since I’m paying for these highly comped individuals to sort through the mess. Thanks for saving me an extra trip to the ‘transfer station’.
Isn’t big govt great…so convenient.
As a resident of Senior housing @ Ironwood, I am up and out early especially during the winter months. When I see people who are not residents of our complex, pull up next to our dumpsters and discard their trash by throwing it all over the fence, I find it bothersome. I have seen cars pull up with all kinds of things including old computers etc. and unload at the expense of this senior complex. Most of these people are people that live in single family housing near us, and are to cheap to pay for their own waste disposal. Eventually it will be passed on down to the senior living on very fixed incomes.
Cholo,
California was used to be one of the greater states in the U.S. Then it was taken over by an invasion from a neighboring third-world country. Now its beginning to operate like, and resembling, that country.
Really people? You spend more every day on stuff you don’t need like a double-frachi-mochiato-latte-crap-drink, or your latest botox treatment, or whatever, but you won’t spend a few bucks a year on a program that provides a vital service? Kee-ryst!
Cholo sais VIVA! VIVA AMERICA!
Happy July 4th! VIVA!
tee hee hee…
I will just dump my batteries and my unused paints in my garbage now. No reason to take it to the dumps anymore as tey will be sorting it for me.
@Paul: “I will just dump my batteries and my unused paints in my garbage now. No reason to take it to the dumps anymore as tey will be sorting it for me.”
I very much doubt that you’re going through the trouble of taking your old batteries to the dump now. Even I don’t do that. FYI, there are battery recycling drop-off buckets at the Pleasanton Library. Collect your old batteries in a bag and take it with you the next time you make a library visit. Old compact fluorescent lights (CFL’s) can be dropped off in a recycling bucket at Home Depot. I believe that Home Depot also accepts certain rechargeable batteries for recycling.
Joe said “And don’t we already have to pay when we go and drop off hazardous waste at our closest Alameda County location, which is in Livermore?”
No we don’t. It’s a free site to drop off all the hazardous waste you give them. Tells me you haven’t used the service.